There's Something About the Way you Look Tonight
by Longbourn22
Summary: A wonderful prompt from TigerLilly888! 'Hooking up  at the Office Christmas Party'. How something made it possible for Hotch and Emily get together leading to the Christmas Party!


Finally! It's here! A wonderful prompt from Tigerlily888; 'Hooking up

At the Office Christmas Party'. This prompt was borne out of a comment made by Thomas Gibson when asked about the possibility of a pairing between Hotch and Prentiss and he said that the only way they would was if something happened at an office Christmas Party.

So, here is my story of Hotch and Prentiss and how they came to be at the Christmas Party.

I owe my thanks, lots of them, to my wonderful and ever patient beta, HGRHfan35! Without her and her brains, this story would not have turned out the way it is. Love ya!

Disclaimer: I do not own CM or any of its characters! And I do not own Sir Elton John's song 'There's something about the way you look tonight'!

Enjoy!

…

There's Something About the Way You Look Tonight

"So, what the bureau is saying is that they are willing to turn a blind eye on interoffice romance as long as you inform your supervisor and sign a disclaimer form with Human Resource stating you will not file a Sexual Harassment complaint against your partner if things don't work out." Morgan asked incredulously as he stared at the latest Bureau memo.

Garcia giggled, "That's putting it in layman's term!" She patted on his well formed biceps.

"Okay, please sign the memo and pass it back. It will be placed in your personal record." Hotch said as he signed his copy.

"So Reid, any pretty agent you have an eye for?" Morgan grinned.

Reid shook his head; he was not about to get into this new memo with Morgan.

"Wished we had this when I was still a younger agent," Dave commented.

"You were the cause of the whole frat rules!" JJ pointed out.

Dave glared at her. JJ stuck her tongue out at him, startling the older agent. It was totally uncharacteristic of the pretty blonde former media liaison to do that.

Emily was quiet as she signed her copy; _did I wish for this tiny miracle? I mean, this will give me the chance to have something with him. We can make it work, I know we can. Sometimes, the way he looks at me…_

Emily smiled softly to herself as she thought about it more.

Hotch was watching Emily surreptitiously while pretending to look over a file, waiting for the memos from everyone.

_This new policy could not have come in a better time! I don't have to pretend about my feelings for her, does she see me like that too? I hope so; we can make it work!_

"I now know why the frat policy is amended." Garcia said as she was reading something on her laptop.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense!" JJ uttered.

"Back off, my blonde and lovely. According to my secret source,…"

"You have a secret source?" JJ and Dave exclaimed together and when they realized that they had uttered it at the same time, they turned to look at each other; their gazes were not that of colleagues.

Emily snorted, "Yah, probably the bureau's security cameras!"

Hotch frowned at Garcia upon hearing Emily's guess, "Garcia, you are only permitted to have access to the cameras only on this floor and within the BAU department."

Garcia reddened, "Oh no. I didn't…Emily! I didn't!"

Emily guffawed and Garcia attempted to smack her for almost getting her in trouble.

"You, Emily Prentiss, are an evil troll."

Emily leaned away from her friend, dodging Garcia's blows and ended bumping against Hotch.

"Oh Hotch! I am so sorry!" Emily covered her mouth. She knew about his personal space.

She and the rest of the team stared, expecting Hotch berating Emily but he didn't. He just nodded and continued reading his file.

"Anyone else will get the death-stare treatment but lately he has been a little too sweet to Emily." Morgan was whispering to Garcia.

Garcia's eyes widen as she looked at Emily, Hotch and turned back to Morgan, "I don't see anything and I'm good at picking up things like this! Are you sure?"

Morgan shook his head, "Keep your ears and eyes open, my lovely bespectacled hot mamma!"

"Oh, sugar honey!" Garcia giggled again.

"Okay, let's get down to work. JJ?" Hotch said as JJ nodded and stood up with the remote.

Hotch could not concentrate while JJ was giving a presentation on the latest case. His mind was still recalling _the bump_.

Yeah, the bump. When Emily bumped him earlier, his arm tingled. It was not an unpleasant sensation, in fact it was delighting and something fluttered within his loins.

Emily had been in his mind lately. A lot lately.

And his feelings for her were not co-worker to co-worker, colleague to colleague. No, it was more personal. He liked her a lot.

She was not what he expected. She was a lot more than she seemed. And she was one tough cookie who had earned his admiration time after time. And she was one of the few who dared to stand up to him. Instead of being annoyed by her attitude, he admired her more. And the admiration turned into more personal. He found that he wanted to get to know her more, as a friend and maybe something else more than personal.

"Hotch?" JJ called to him.

He jerked his head up and saw six pair of eyes staring at him expectantly.

"Um, wheels up in …uh, ten minutes."

The team nodded in acknowledgement and left the room. All except Emily.

She had stood up, collecting her paperwork when she had noticed Hotch was quiet and remained seated; it was not like him at all.

"Hotch," she began. "Is everything okay? Jack? Um, Strauss?" She whispered the last as if it was a dirty word.

It elicited a small grin from him. Emily smiled; glad that she could get him to grin, even if it was a small one.

"No, it's not her or Jack. He is fine. I'm just, er…nothing." He stood up quickly and grabbing his stuff and quickly walked out.

Emily was astonished; for a moment he was fine and he seemed about to open up to her when he clammed up suddenly. What triggered that change?

As she turned towards the door, she saw her answer; Dave Rossi. He had a funny grin. She didn't like that grin; it was too telling, as if he knew about something she didn't.

Shaking her head, she walked out and passed him without saying a word.

…

"Where is Prentiss?" Hotch keyed into his team's earphones. "Anyone?" He asked.

He was getting a weird feeling and it was not a good feeling. His heart was beating rapidly.

_Not good, not good at all. Please Emily! Answer me!_ He thought anxiously.

"Prentiss, over?" He tried again.

No answer.

"Morgan, Dave, go over the woods back behind that house and search around for Em…Prentiss."

They keyed back their 'okays'.

"JJ and Reid, we're going to get inside." He turned to his right where JJ was crouched beside him; they were behind a low wall panel.

The two agents nodded, their guns drawn.

With a nod from Hotch, they moved towards the house.

…

"Rossi! What's going on? I thought she was with you?"

Dave turned to look at Derek, "I thought so too. I kept moving forward, thinking she was following behind me but somehow, she disappeared."

"Okay…okay, let's go look over where you two were at earlier."

Dave nodded and led the younger man to the edge of the woods.

They were still searching when Hotch, JJ, Reid and some of the LEOs came and helped.

The UnSub had been detained; he gave himself up when he saw that there was no way out.

"Anything?" Hotch demanded. He was angry and scared for Emily now.

Rossi and Morgan shook their heads.

"How can she just disappear?" He asked in general.

"Look, I was with her and I'm taking full res…"

Hotch shook his head at Rossi, "It's no one's fault. Let's just keep looking."

Less than ten minutes, they found her, or Hotch found her.

She had fallen into a hole that was covered by loose leaves and twigs. The pit was about 8 feet deep and the bottom was filled with rocks. When Hotch stumbled onto the pit, he had almost fallen into it but luckily for him, he held on to his balance.

Hotch shone a light into it and was startled to see Emily's unmoving form.

"Emily!" he called out to her.

He heard her moaned.

Hotch felt a wave of relief to know that she was still alive!

Hotch stood up and began to look around for his team, "Over here! I found her!" He couldn't keep the fear out of his voice when he called out to them.

As soon as they heard him, they rushed over.

"Hotch?" JJ asked.

Pointing at the pit where the team and the LEOs just now spotted it, Hotch said, "She's in there! I'm going down there. JJ, call for an ambulance."

JJ nodded and was on her cell phone before he could finish the sentence.

Slowly, he lowered himself down, careful to not land on her. His heart thumped like crazy when he saw trickle of blood running down her left temple

Putting a finger on the jugular vein on her neck, he breathed a sigh of relief to feel her heart beating at a regular and steady pace.

Shaking her slightly, he called to her softly, "Emily? Come on, sweetheart. Wake up."

Surprisingly, she moved slightly, her brows in a deep furrow.

Hotch wanted to whoop for joy!

But he held his cool. "Emily, it's me, Hotch. Come on, hon, wake up. Time to go home."

Emily cracked an eye opened and winced, "Hurt." She uttered hoarsely.

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

Panicked, he began to run his hands on her, assessing her injury, especially her legs, arms, neck and back.

"Wha…Hotch?" Emily felt his hands on her and began to giggle.

Hotch looked at her strangely, "I think you've got a concussion."

Still giggling, "Tickles. And feels good…don't stop."

Hotch's eyebrows are arched high. "Emily, I don't think you know what you're saying right now."

"Yes I do." She was smiling as she kept her eyes close.

Hotch shook his head but allowed himself a small grin. "Sweetheart, you're really something."

Emily cracked open an eye, "You called me Sweetheart. Really?"

Hotch was startled, he didn't realized he had used that endearment on her.

"It's okay, Hotch. You're my sweetheart, too."

Hotch smile widened.

_Hotch! Anything? How is she?_ It was Morgan keying into their earplugs.

"Hearing voices in my head…" Emily giggled again.

Hotch shook his head and twisting his right wrist where the mic was attached to his watch, he told them about Emily's condition.

_Hotch, EMT is on their way, ETA is five minutes._ JJ said.

"More voices…sounds like an angel talking…hey, I heard that voice before…blonde, big blue eyes…funny…wait, the other one is funny…red head? Or blonde? Wears glasses…never heard of angels wearing glasses…"

Hotch frowned as he listened to her ramblings; she really had a bad concussion!

_Hotch! Can you move her?_ Morgan asked.

"I don't think that is wise. She has a head injury and she is not really all that lucid. I cannot really assess the rest of her injuries but she fell hard enough on these rocks to lose consciousness for a while." Hotch said into the mic. "I think we should wait for the EMT's and a backboard. Any chance of getting a ladder here from the house?"

_We'll see what we can do,_ Hotch. Morgan replied.

"Man angels!" Emily muttered as her eyes remained close. "I bet one of them look like Hotch…sometimes he looks so cute…" She smiled as she talked.

Hotch found himself holding his breath…_she is talking about me! She called me cute!_

"Emily, I need you to look at me, can you do that?"

Emily nodded and slowly opened her eyes, Hotch tried to see if her pupils were dilated but the natural light falling into the hole was not enough to get a clear reading.

"Head fuzzy."

"It's okay, sweetheart, I'm right here." He softly pressed one hand against her cheeks and the other grabbed her hand tightly.

_Hotch, the EMT's are nearly here, it won't be long now. I've send a few LEO's back to the house to try and find a ladder. _Morgan keyed in again.

"Hey, I know that voice," Emily rubbed her face against Hotch's hand slowly. Her action was doing something funny to Hotch. "That male angel…not Hotch, he is better looking…"

"No Emily, listen … the EMT's are here now and they will check on you and then we can get out of this hole…okay?"

"Emily!" Morgan was yelling from the top. "Hang in there!"

"Please don't yell, man angel, I can hear you very well!" Emily cringed and closed her eyes again.

"Come on, Emily! Open your eyes and look at me, sweetie!" Hotch called out.

"Okay Honey!" Emily sang her answer and opened up her eyes once more to look at him. He smiled when she looked at him and gave him a sweet, albeit loopy smile.

The ambulance arrived and the paramedics got out quickly and approached the hole trying to find the best way to get Emily out safely.

Right then, the LEO's showed up with a sturdy looking ladder and lowered it into the hole so Hotch could get out and make place for the EMT's.

"Noooo, my man angel, don't go away" Emily softly moaned as Hotch tried to let go of her hand.

Kneeling down next to her again he said "It's okay my love, I'm still here but listen to me. Okay? Emily…look at me". When she opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him he smiled softly "Hey, sweetheart. The EMT's are here to take care of you but I need to make some space for them first. So even though I am letting go of your hand now, I will still be here, right outside this hole and I will keep talking to you if you want, okay?"

She looked up at him and gave a small nod, even though it visibly hurt her. She squeezed his hand once and then let go of him. He stepped on to the ladder to swiftly climb out of the hole. The EMT's and their bags went down and attended to the wounds that were visible to them. Morgan then lowered the backboard down into the hole so they could secure Emily onto the board and secure her head with a neck collar before hoisting her out with minimal stress to any possible injuries.

Hotch rushed to Emily's side and told the paramedics he would ride with her in the Ambulance.

"We got her, agent." One of the paramedics assured Hotch. They carried her to the back of the ambulance and moved her onto the stretcher.

Hotch told Morgan to take over closing the case and that he was going with Emily.

Hopping in, he sat across from Emily, his eyes never left hers.

The team watched the doors closed and later moved away.

"Did I hear him calling her sweetheart?" Dave asked, looking at Morgan.

Morgan nodded, "Yeah, I did. Maybe it was an accident, he was not aware he did it."

Reid shook his head, "Once maybe, but I did hear him called her that a couple of times and he called her my love."

"You don't say?" Dave asked Reid. He did hear Hotch say that to Emily himself.

JJ smiled, "So…Hotch and Emily?"

Dave added, "I did see him holding her hand in the ambulance before they left."

Morgan shook his head and grinned, so did Dave.

Reid frowned, "What about Hotch and Emily?"

JJ, Morgan and Dave stared at Reid incredulously, and then Dave spoke, "Did your mom drop you several times when you were a baby?"

Reid began to think about his childhood.

Dave shook his head, "Never mind, kid. I think you just answered my question."

Reid stared at Dave, "But Rossi! I didn't say anything just now. How…"

"Spence, come with me, we're going to take a look inside the house." JJ began to tug Reid's sleeve, and after another odd glance at Rossi, he walked away with JJ.

Morgan and Dave watched them; Dave spoke, "Where exactly did you guys find him? Genius aside, the kid is hopeless on the love department."

Morgan flashed a smile, "Don't get him started on that. He will be telling you all about the mating rituals of the African Lions. The male lions can go at it for over a day, that's why he has a harem of lionesses…what?"

Dave began to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

"That kid has rubbed on you good. Look at you, you're telling me how lions screw."

Morgan's eyes widened as he looked out in horror, "Damn Reid! I'm a cool player! Not some fact spouting nerd! Geek!"

Dave was laughing uncontrollably now.

"Shut up, Rossi, just shut up." With that, Morgan strode away, catching up with JJ and Reid. His intentions were to give Reid an earful!

Rossi began walking towards them and sang under his breath; 'love is in the air…'

…

Two weeks later, Emily came back to work. She had finally gotten a thumbs-up from her doctor. The concussion she had suffered from the fall in that pit had knocked her pretty good, not to mention all the heavy bruising she sustained, so her doctor was cautious about letting her get back to work right away but after a week they were happy at her progress.

"Hey, don't you look rested and refreshed?" Morgan teased her. Like Reid, he was glad for her return.

Emily rolled her eyes up but grinned at them, "Please, it's not like I was gone for a long time! Besides, you boneheads came to my apartment a couple of times last week."

"Yeah, so did someone else." Morgan pointed his chin towards Hotch's office.

Emily looked up and smiled softly, "He was worried."

"No, I think the man wants to get down and dirty with you!" Morgan said.

"Ew Derek! We're not like that. He has been taking care of me."

Morgan stared at her, "You mean you two have not been shaking the booty?"

Emily shook her head, "Derek, he is a gentleman. He insisted that I should be completely healed before he wanted to …uh…take the …wait, why am I telling you about what we are going to do!"

Morgan laughed, "Because I'm a charmer and you almost fell for it."

"Butthead." She said.

He stopped smiling and looked serious, "Em, you're my friend and partner, and Hotch is my friend as well. I just don't want you to get burned."

Emily shook her head, "Derek, don't worry. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself. But I will tell you this; he will hurt himself before he will do that to me."

He was silent but a moment later, he nodded, "Just let me know if he pulls on his alpha-male shit on you."

Emily laughed, "You don't have to worry about that! He is truly a caring and very wonderful man when he's not playing boss."

"Okay, I'll trust you on that. Boss or no boss, friend or no friend, if he really hurt you in any way, I'll put my boot up in his…"

"Whose butt are you putting your boot in?" Garcia suddenly appeared beside him.

He turned to her, "Nothing. Just a brother to sister chat with Princess about her new boyfriend."

Garcia looked confused, "But I thought Em and Hotch…don't tell me you two broke up and you're hooking up with another?" She looked at Emily accusingly.

Emily backed away from Garcia's glare, "Whoa, easy there PG. Hotch and I are friends and I'm not dating anyone else. Derek was just doing his best 'I'll pound your face senseless' impression, just in case Hotch doesn't treat me right. As if he would." She rolled her eyes up and smiled.

Garcia lightly punched Derek's arm, "You, my silly man, need to trust them. Hotch is a great guy and will not hurt our Emily."

"I know, I know, mamma!" he rubbed against his arm. "I'm just trying to give her the heads up."

Garcia nodded and turned her attention back to Emily, "He's right, Emily. If Hotch hurt one teeny, ensee, meeny part of you, I'll join Morgan in taking care of Hotch."

"Oh my god, you two! Quit worrying! Hotch is not like that! As a matter of fact, I already had this talk with Dave. And he happily told me that he's still an Italian and has a lot of connections, if you know what I mean."

Garcia's eyes widened behind her bright purple eyeglasses, "Are you talking about the Mafioso? As in Scarface, Godfather type of connections?" Her lush red lips a perfect 'O'.

"You, my gorgeous sunflower, have been watching too much TV. He was just joking." On second thought, Morgan turned to look at Emily, "Right?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "You can never tell with Dave. The man is as mysterious as Santa Claus."

"Oh! Speaking of Santa Claus, here is the memo for the Annual Christmas Party."

Morgan and Emily groaned, "Already? Didn't everyone learned from last year's party?" Morgan said.

"What? That five female agents got in deep trouble for fighting? And the fight was about you?" Garcia glared at him.

"Hey, I didn't start the fight. They did. I mean, I can't help if they all want a piece of me!" He grinned.

"Oh puh-lease!" Garcia rolled her eyes. "Don't give me the innocent 'I-didn't-start-it' look. You were enjoying it, watching them on the floor fighting it out!"

"Well, a lot of skin was showing and I can't help being a regular hot blooded male."

"Regular hot blooded male, my ass!" Garcia and Emily said at once and laughed about it.

"Ah, I see you guys received your memos. Strauss wanted all of us to be there, barring an emergency case." Dave came into the picture. "Welcome back, Emily."

"Thanks Dave. It's good to be back."

"She's using us as her stepping stones to go up." Garcia rolled her eyes as she said it.

"I had planned on heading up to New York to see my editor." Dave groused.

"Oh, another book in the works?" Garcia asked.

"Something like it. This one is going to be more of a tutorial and study guide."

"Wait, are you rewriting the Behavioral unit for the Academy?" Emily looked at Dave.

"Knew you would be the one to figure it out." Dave said as he smiled.

"Does A…Hotch knows about it?"

Garcia interrupted the conversation as she zoned in on Emily's slip, "Aaron? Okay, looks like things are getting serious there."

"Not talking about it, so give up the 20 questions game."

"Aw Em! Such a party pooper!" Garcia groaned.

"Speaking of party, minus the pooper, I guess we'll have to show our faces…wonder if JJ could generate an emergency case…" Dave wondered as he moved away from them and headed to his office.

"Huh! Old man there sure is not looking forward to this party. Come on, how bad is it?" Garcia looked after the retreating older agent.

"You know, they sure don't give us much time to get prepared, this party is this weekend!" Emily commented.

"Well, we have a couple of days to figure what to wear," Garcia was more optimistic.

Emily nodded, wondering what she would be wearing and she wanted something that would stun Hotch.

What she told Morgan about their relationship so far not advancing to the bedroom was true. Hotch had insisted she be completely healed before he would take the next step. She had no qualms at jumping into his bones but at the same time, she would respect his wishes and learn to be patient.

"Boss is back…time to get back to work." Morgan saluted to the ladies before he retreated to his office.

Garcia waved at Emily and hurriedly, in her bright yellow stilettos, walked to her lair.

Emily giggled over the fact that the team still showed some fear for their unit chief.

"Something funny?" Hotch stood in front of her.

"The Annual Christmas Party," Emily waved the memo at him.

Hotch arched his brow, "Already? They were talking about it at the meeting earlier. Guess they don't waste any time…and it's this weekend? I thought they were talking about next weekend."

"Problem?" How quickly she could tell something was bothering him.

He looked up at her, "No. Not exactly. But I had plans this weekend."

Emily smiled, "Plans?"

Hotch grinned, "Yes, and it involved you. But I guess it will have to wait." Looking around he asked her if Reid had arrived.

Emily shook her head and was about to reply when she spotted him, "There he is."

Hotch turned around and saw Reid entering the BAU, a slight smile on his face.

"Hmm, looks like our Dr. Reid is in a good mood." Emily uttered.

"Well, he is about to change that mood." Calling out to Reid and then turned to Emily, he said, "I need to talk to you two, in my office." He nodded at them and headed to his office. Reid and Emily looked at each other, shrugged, and followed their leader.

"You two are going to Michigan. Lansing PD sheriff wanted a personal consult …" for the next hour, they discussed the case. Hotch told them that he was requested to go but he had a parole meeting in West Virginia with Dave that was more crucial. Morgan had another parole meeting in North Carolina.

"As you can see, we're pretty stacked."

"No problem Hotch. We should be back by tomorrow." Emily nodded.

"Thanks." Hotch looked at her a little longer, his way of telling her that he would be calling her later.

"Come on, Dr. Reid, let's go see Transportation, and I'm driving!" She waved at Hotch before she and Reid left the office.

Hotch followed her with his eyes; damn! He was hoping to have her over for dinner with him and Jack. _Oh well, day after then._

As it turned out, Reid and Emily were stuck in Michigan for two days because of a snow storm. There was nothing they or Hotch could do. Hotch jokingly teased her on the phone, that she had deliberately set it up so she would be missing the bureau party.

Emily laughed but set him straight, that it was he who had her going to Michigan, with Reid!

"Do you know the man did not stop talking all the way there?" Emily said. "The only time he shut up was when he fell asleep, five miles before the exit to Lansing?"

Hotch chuckled, "Well, welcome to the 'I have survived Spencer Reid road trip' club."

Emily laughed on the other end, "Really? Okay, besides you …hmmm, and Dave, who else?"

"Morgan, Gideon and JJ."

"Well, I feel privileged!" She laughed. "Now, how are we going to get Garcia initiated?"

Hotch shook his head, "I don't think I want those two together! I might end up having only one of them returning from a trip. So, are you going to make it to the party?"

"I think so; weather reports says it should stop by tomorrow evening and then we'll be clear to drive out Saturday morning."

Hotch calculated in his mind, "That means you'll be back Saturday evening. Kinda cutting it close to the party and you'd be tired. Why don't we give the party a miss?"

"And have Strauss to answer to? Especially you, Aaron? I'll be okay and I am looking forward to it."

"Me too. I can officially tell everyone you're mine."

Emily laughed, "Yours? SSAIC Aaron Hotchner's? Ha! ...I like that. That way, SSA Joanne Miller can stop pawing at you like she did last year!"

Hotch groaned, "Please don't remind me of it. Besides, I think she found a new vic…oops, boyfriend."

"Oh, someone we know?"

"Oh yeah, we know him very well. Anderson." He replied.

"Anderson? As in our Anderson?"

"Our Anderson? Hmm…yeah, that's right, there's another SA Anderson in White Collar Crime. And yes, it's …uh, our Anderson I'm talking about."

"But Aaron! She's about twenty years older than him! Talk about Cougar!"

Hotch laughed, "I don't care if she is a Cougar, Tiger, Lion or Bear, as long as she is out of my hair!"

"I am glad too. Let's change the subject; how is Jack?"

The rest of the evening, they spent talking about Jack. Hotch was beyond pleased at how fast Jack took to Emily and vice versa.

It was all Jack talked about now; Emily this, Emily that, Emily said this, Emily said that. The boy literally worshipped the woman he found himself falling in love with.

…

It was quite late in the afternoon by the time Emily and Reid arrived in Quantico for them to turn in their vehicle and rush home. Emily had told Hotch to not bother to pick her up but that she would meet him at the Banquet Hall at the Hyatt hotel in Dumfries near the Academy.

Hotch was against the idea; the gentleman in him disagreed with her; he wanted to escort her to the party which meant picking her up from her apartment and driving them to the party. But Emily argued that it would be redundant as he lived closer to the venue than where she was.

Reluctantly, he agreed to meet her at the party.

And here at the party, Hotch was waiting for her. He knew that she and Reid had returned a while ago so he was not worried about them being late.

"You cleaned up nice," Dave came over to Hotch who was waiting by the entrance.

"Thanks, glad you approved." Hotch kept glancing over to the door.

Dave grinned, "She's not going to stand you up. You know where she works."

"I know she's not. Just …"

"Missing her?"

"Yeah. Haven't seen her since Wednesday. Wished I didn't have to send her to that consult."

"Aaron, you know you don't have a choice and besides, Emily won't be happy if you had her stayed behind when she could have easily gone."

"You're right, Dave. She would skin me alive and use me as a punching bag."

Dave chuckled and began to take a drink when he saw her and almost choke on the drink.

Hotch thought he was really choking and began to pat his friend's back and didn't see her.

Dave shook his head, trying to tell Hotch he didn't need any help but for his friend to look over to the entrance of the Hall.

"Dave, you alright? Did you swallow an olive off your martini drink?"

"Just shut up and turn around!" Dave uttered, his voice was hoarse from coughing.

"What are you…"at that point, Hotch saw many sets of eyes, male eyes, pointing towards the entrance. He slowly turned around and saw her.

His eyes widened at the delicious sight of her and her dress.

It was a cocktail dress; bright red, strapless and slightly above her knees. The red hue against her ivory complexion complemented her beautifully. And it was snug as it showed off her curves; some he didn't know existed and was glad to be able to admire them.

"She…"Dave tried to say something but couldn't as he was distracted by her.

"Yeah…she…" Hotch mumbled after Dave as he continued to stare.

As soon as she spotted Hotch, she smiled; her red lipstick vibrant on her lips.

Those lips…he had yet to taste them but had refrained to do so at that time when she was healing.

Her eyes, they were brilliant and happy. Certainly one wouldn't use happy to describe eyes but Hotch couldn't think of any word but happy.

There was something about the way she looked tonight. She was beautiful and exuded an air of mystery.

He couldn't help but want to take her in his arms that moment.

Those two weeks when she was on medical leave, he was at her place many times, keeping an eye on her. And those many times, he wished she was in his arms constantly.

He wanted her. He wanted to make her his.

But she had suffered a pretty bad concussion and her doctor wanted her to take it easy, so he waited.

And he behaved like a gentleman.

_Stupid fool!_ Hotch heard his conscience said. _She was yearning for you to make the first move and all you could say was you are a gentleman and you're going to wait till she was all better. _

_Gentleman, my ass!_

_Go to her now! Show her what you think of her and be truthful. She deserved that much!_

And then he realized something; he was not falling in love with her but he already was; he really loved her. Probably had been for a long time but hadn't realized it until that moment.

In love with Emily Prentiss.

_What about her? What are her feelings for me? What if she didn't feel the same way?_

Watching her, he knew. He knew her just like he knew himself. And not to sound like a broken record, there was something about the way she looked tonight. It was not her dress which was very pretty, it was not the way she fixed her hair which was soft and wavy and brushed to hang down loosely.

No, her eyes. There was something there! And as she looked at him, he thought she was looking at his soul, that she was telling him something and everything. Mysterious.

Lady in red and so beautiful, and so mysterious. Yeah, he liked this about her.

As he watched her make her way, Hotch overheard someone behind him commented, "Is she single? Damn, what I would give to have a piece of her."

"Oh yeah, she is some hot piece. Maybe we can get her a few drinks and start working on her." Another male voice replied.

Anger rose up to his throat as he was about to turn around and gave those two jerks a piece of his mind when Dave put his hand on his friend's arm and shook his head.

"I got this. We won't be bothered by these two clowns anymore. Enjoy yourself with Emily." Dave nodded assuredly at Hotch and turned to face the two.

Hotch wanted to take care of it himself because they were talking about his Emily. But he had not seen her for two days and had been looking forward to their 'reunion'. Trust some idiots to spoil the mood!

"Hey! Miss me?" Emily smiled up to him when she stood in front of him, drinking in the sight of his handsome features.

Hotch, his anger dissolved instantly at the delectable sight of her, smiled, "More than you ever know. Welcome back."

He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her tight but decorum at present prevented his sudden impulsive action.

Emily smiled lovingly at him. She wanted to tell him something but not here. She would have to wait till they were alone.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Dave walking with two young men out the door.

"Is Dave leaving? And who are those two men with him?"

Hotch shrugged, "I'm not sure. I guess he made some new friends."

Emily grinned and looked at him; there was something about Hotch tonight she couldn't put her finger on.

He was wearing his usual; suit, dark grey this time, blue shirt and just to be festive, which was not a usual thing for him, he was wearing a red tie.

Red tie that was the identical shade as her dress.

"Did you know your tie matches my dress?" She remarked, her grin wide.

Hotch looked at his tie and held it out to her dress and smiled, "It sure is. Wonder how it is so?"

"Great minds think alike and so forth?"

"Yeah, something like that," he said faintly, he couldn't keep his gaze off her. He wished they were alone right now. He wanted to tell her exactly how he felt for her.

"Wow! Don't you two look…coordinated." Garcia gushed as she appeared beside Emily.

Garcia, a drink in hand, was as usual, dressed festively. Red and green and a splash of purple, yellow, orange and blue on her dress with a godet skirt; it swished playfully as she moved about. Her blonde hair was put up with what looked like silver and gold tinsels weaved in and about her hair.

"Not planned, PG. I…just got back from Michigan with Reid." Emily explained, her cheeks blushed deep red.

"I'm just teasing, my beauty in red!" Garcia giggled. "And really Hotch, very nice tie!"

"Thanks, Garcia. And you look…uh…" Hotch stumbled for the right word.

"Christmassy." Emily finished it for him and blushed again. It seemed lately they have been finishing each other's sentences.

Garcia glanced at Emily and then at Hotch and grinned widely. _Hmm…_

"Hey guys, did you see Dave…oh, don't you two," JJ staring at Emily and Hotch standing together, looking as if they had been together forever. "You two look like a pair…ow!" Garcia elbowed JJ's ribs.

JJ frowned at Garcia who was wearing a cryptic look, then look at Hotch and Emily and it dawned on her…_wow! Are they really serious with each other? If so, it's about damn time!_

Hotch and Emily were quiet but they knew they have been 'outed'. His eyebrows were arched high but there was a glint of happiness in his eyes.

"So, where's Reid? I wanted to meet his date!" Garcia almost bounced, her skirt swayed around.

"He should be here soon," Emily said. "He said he had to pick her up. I wonder who she is?"

JJ and Garcia shrugged as they looked around the room, just in case they missed him and his mystery date.

Hotch excused himself, he needed a drink and knew Emily needed one too so he went off to the bar.

"Emily! You look gorgeous in this dress!" Garcia said excitedly.

"You guys really do look good together." JJ said but her attention was somewhere else as she continued to look around.

"Thanks guys. Just wanted to look decent for once. Where's Will?" Emily asked JJ, assuming that was who she was looking for.

JJ stopped scanning the room and looked sadly, "Will left. He left yesterday."

Emily and Garcia gasped and felt awful for their young friend but knew that JJ and Will had been having some difficulty, especially since JJ came back to the BAU and left the Pentagon.

Shrugging her slim shoulders, JJ smiled, "It's okay guys. We thought that it was for the best. I didn't cry when he left, what does that mean?"

Emily nodded, "Means it's time to move on. I'm sorry Jayje but then again, you two gave it a go and made it last. And you still have Henry."

JJ nodded and grinned; her son was her life.

They began to talk about Henry, JJ was giving them the latest antics Henry was doing when he found out about flushing the toilet and watching the water swirl around the bowl before it disappeared, and then he would do it over again and again.

"I shudder to think about my water bill!" JJ laughed.

The other two laughed.

Dave had returned after gotten rid of the two clowns, he had come in from another entrance so JJ didn't see him.

As it was, Dave was at the bar with Hotch.

"Everything okay?" Hotch asked.

Dave nodded, "Quaking in their shoes. Their supervisors had sent them home and next month, they will be attending sexual harassment classes. And they will be models for the classes; how not to be a jackass at a party."

Hotch chuckled.

"So, did you know about JJ and Will?" Dave asked Hotch tentatively.

"That Will is not here tonight? What's going on?"

Dave nodded, "He has left her."

"Oh yeah?" Hotch asked, curious and concerned.

"That fool couldn't handle her schedules."

"That's not surprising." Hotch said, thinking of his late wife before her untimely demise and their divorce because of his dedication to his job.

"Yeah, it's tough going on for her now, what with Henry and work but luckily for her, her neighbor is keeping Henry when she is in the field."

Hotch looked at his friend closely; Dave was watching JJ across the room and missed the look from Hotch gave him.

"You gonna be the new fool?" Hotch asked softly.

Dave whipped his head around and faced his friend, "What do you mean?"

Hotch just shrugged his shoulders but Dave saw the meaning of his actions.

"I'm just being a friend and a shoulder to lean on, that's all." Dave said.

Hotch kept his gaze on his friend without another word.

Dave returned his gaze and sighed, "Okay, just say it."

Hotch grinned a little, "I say go for it. Especially if the feelings are reciprocated. And from what I have been seeing, it definitely is."

Dave's eyes brightened, "You really think so? I just don't want to…what happens if he comes back for his family?"

Hotch narrowed his eyes; it was very unusual to see a hesitant Dave. The man was always confident in everything he did, this was new to Hotch.

"Dave, don't doubt yourself. Don't second guess yourself, just go for it."

"Like you? What you are going through?"

"Yeah, and I intended to set things right tonight, as soon as we get out of this party."

Dave nodded. "I'm hoping to do the same with her tonight as well. She does not deserve the way Will had treated her. And I intend to make things easy; she deserves more than this."

Hotch saw his friend's eyes glazed slightly as he stared in the direction of the BAU ladies who were busy talking and laughing.

And he noticed more than a few men staring in their direction as well.

Jealousy flared up as he knew that most eyes were on Emily.

"Take it easy, my friend. She is yours, and she has no eyes for other men."

"So noticeable, huh?" Hotch ran his hand through his hair.

Dave gave a slight nod.

"Sometimes I feel as if the new amended policy is a trap but then at this moment, I'm glad for it. If it weren't for that memo, she and I…it would not have been possible. I won't risk our jobs."

Dave shook his head, "It's always a guessing game but you two are mature adults and from what I'm seeing, you two will make it a very successful go at it. Here is your opportunity, Aaron, use it. And after what she went through, treat her right, make her happy."

"I will. And I want her to be happy, always."

Drinks in hands, the two men walked towards the ladies.

"Here come Dave and Hotch," Garcia grinned. "Wonder where Derek is. Thought I saw him earlier…"

JJ grinned, whether it was about Derek or the thought of Dave's presence she was not sure but she felt bubbly, "Agents Sophia Franklin and Megan Swanson have claimed his attention but that was ten minutes ago so who knows what is going on now."

"I don't think I really want to know." Emily shook her head.

"Me neither." Garcia agreed.

"Where is Kevin?" JJ asked her best friend and godmother to her son.

Garcia shrugged, "He said he had to …work."

JJ and Emily looked at each other and Emily spoke, "Uh, I thought all non-essential personnel are excused? And he is non-essential."

"What is going on, Pen?" JJ asked.

Garcia stared at her pretty bright red shoes, "He is looking for a transfer."

"Again?" JJ uttered.

Garcia nodded sadly, "Another out-of-this-world transfer. Trust me, I'm not going to…interfere this time."

"Why the gloom and doom faces?" Dave asked as he stood besides JJ, making her blushed unconsciously.

Emily widened her eyes when she spotted JJ's slight discomfort and glancing at Hotch, he nodded as he handed her drink to her and standing next to her, he wrapped a hand around her waist. Emily was very conscious of his hand, as if he was telling all that she was his, which was fine with her!

_Ah! So, JJ and Dave? Who would have thought!_ Emily smiled to herself.

"So, where are the others?" Dave asked, trying to get into the mood.

Heads shook and Emily explained to him what she had told the others.

"Mystery date? Huh, I hope she has earplugs." Dave teased.

The others laughed.

A cheery Christmas song came on and Dave did a surprise thing by asking Garcia to dance with him.

Surprised, Garcia smiled and nodded. Taking Dave's hand, they moved to the platform set up for dancing.

Emily laughed, "Well, I thought he would be asking you to dance, JJ."

JJ shook her head as she smiled, "Dave knew about Garcia, that he had been a jerk to her."

A deeper blush crept to her face.

Emily stared at her friend hard and saw it; _Dave had been at JJ's place when Garcia had called her to talk about Kevin._

"You two are good friends to Garcia, JJ." Emily stated.

JJ nodded.

Hotch leaned down and whispered in Emily's ear, asking if she wanted to dance, Emily nodded.

Placing their drinks on a table nearby, Hotch slid his hand from her waist and grasping her hand, he led her to the dance floor.

JJ was smiling widely as she watched Hotch holding Emily, his eyes only for her as well as Emily's eyes for him.

_They really look good together!_ JJ thought.

"Hey, I see Hotch is stepping out there with Prentiss." Morgan's voice interrupting JJ's thoughts.

"Where have you been?" JJ turned to look at him.

Morgan smiled and shook his head, "Here and there."

"You are such a player!"

Pointing to the dance floor, Morgan said, "Now that is something you don't see, Rossi and my hot mamma!"

"Derek, you don't know half of it. Did you know about Pen and Kevin?"

Morgan frowned, "What about them? Where is Kevin?"

"He is working on a transfer, requesting an out of state or even country relocation. He just left her."

Anger in his eyes, "Where is he? I'm going to…"

JJ held her hand, "No. This is between Penelope and Kevin. She is a big girl and she can handle this herself. Just give her some support, a shoulder."

Morgan watched Garcia dancing and then looked at JJ, "You're right. She needs me now." With that, he left JJ and went to the dance floor.

"This ought to be interesting." JJ said as she watched Morgan walked to Dave, tapping his shoulder and pointed to Garcia.

Dave looked at Morgan, than at Garcia who nodded her head, smiling softly.

Dave relinquished his position and allowed Morgan to step in and moved away.

He made his way back to where JJ was standing.

Smiling, Dave stood in front of JJ, "How about it? Give an old Italian a swing?"

JJ giggled, "You are not old, Dave. Just a little seasoned."

Dave nodded, "I like that expression better, really makes me feel younger now. So, how about cutting the rug with a seasoned Italian?"

"Thank you, I will. Although there's no rug there, I'm sure we can make something out of it." JJ held her hand out and Dave quickly grabbed it. Walking together, they stepped onto the dance floor and dance.

Emily was looking about her and Hotch as they held each other.

"Hey, feeling alright?" Hotch asked, he was still watching her. Actually, he had not stopped watching her.

Emily looked at him, "Yeah, I'm fine. More than fine."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because I'm in the arms of the most handsome man in the whole room!"

Hotch grinned, his dimples deepened, "I think you're biased."

"Maybe I am but I'm not changing my view point."

"Well then, I'm happy to say that I am with the most beautiful woman in the world!"

"Oh, now you're teasing me!"

"No. It's the truth." He had stopped smiling.

Emily sensed a change in him and tilting her head, she asked him if he was alright?

"Emily, I…"

"Oh my god! Look who Reid is with!"

Emily and Hotch turned to see where Garcia, who had stopped dancing, stared out by the entrance.

"Agent Seaver?" Hotch muttered.

Emily grinned, "I'll be damn! It is her! I thought she was in San Diego?"

"I guess our genius genii made something magical and poof! Here she is!"

"I didn't know he and Ashley…" Emily said.

Garcia turned to Emily, "He has been trying to keep it under the radar but don't forget who you're talking to."

"So you knew all along about them?" Morgan asked.

"Oh yes! Reid asked for my help and made me his secret keeper."

"Secret keeper? What the heck is that?" Morgan asked.

"Okay, you're so gonna get some fictional education this weekend! It's going to be a Harry Potter marathon at my place tomorrow for you, my dark and handsome knight in tarnished armor!" Garcia giggled.

Emily was about to speak when Hotch tugged at her hand, "Come on, Emily. I need to tell you something. Somewhere quiet and no interruptions."

"Okay." She followed Hotch as they weaved around other couples dancing on the floor and around tables and finally, a door.

It led to another large room but thankfully, it was unoccupied.

Perfect.

There were large tables and stacked chairs on the side of the wall so Hotch led her there and gently picking her up, he sat her on the table, Emily was grinning as she watched his expression throughout; he was like a man possessed!

"Aaron! Are you okay?"

Hotch had been pacing a bit in front of her when she spoke. He stopped his pacing and stood in front of her.

"I…I have been waiting a long time. A long time to tell you this. Emily, I love you."

Emily stopped grinning. She was stunned by his sudden declaration.

"Don't say anything yet," he continued. "Just hear me out."

She nodded.

"I know you're probably thinking that I've gone barking mad and maybe making a rash declaration but I'm sure of it. Granted, a while back I knew I was falling for you, who couldn't? Wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know who else or I'll not be liable if something happen to them. I want you for myself. Yes, I'm selfish.

I have been in love with you for a long time and I have to be honest; since before my divorce with Haley. Our marriage was a good one while it lasted but we have grown apart for a long time. We were more like friends raising a child than a couple. She recognized it as well and knew that it was over long before I admitted it. But that's neither here or there. I want you to be part of my life. Part of Jack's life. And maybe down the road, or sooner, a larger family. I know you want kids and so do I. I know we can make it work. Okay, the kids and bigger family part can wait. Heck, we haven't even been out on a proper date! But I know. I'm sure of it. I just want you to know how I feel for you and I hope I am not scaring you."

Emily nodded.

"Aaron, I…my god! I've wanted to tell you how I feel. How I…over the years we've been working together, I have the biggest crush on you. And I know that you would never do anything to ruin your career. The thought of having an interoffice romance or affair is a sure thing to sink it. But this amendment…this change, I thought somewhere, somehow, someone above or something, suddenly likes me. And granted me this chance; that _we_ have a chance. I know, just like you, that we can make this work." She chuckled at herself and continued, "Goodness, I was being too presumptuous back then. There I was, making plans for us when the one most important thing was missing…you. I wasn't even sure how you felt about me. I mean, I had a pretty good idea how you feel about me but to figure it and to actually hear you say it is a whole lot different. And now that I do, I have to be honest; I can't wait to take the next step. And yes, I would love to be part of Jack's life!"

Looking down at the floor, she said shyly, "And I really like the idea of a bigger family…with you."

Hotch smiled widely as he moved closer to her, lifting her chin up with his finger, looking straight into her eyes, he saw it. That mysterious something…love.

Emily saw it too, except in his eyes which were full of love.

Smiling, he leaned down and kissed her.

Suddenly, music streamed into the room from the main hallway, it was an Elton John song; There's Something About the Way You Look Tonight.

Pulling slightly away from her delectable lips, he smiled, "Hear this song? That is exactly what I saw about you tonight. Now I know what that something is now."

Emily smiled, still reeling from the kiss, "That is what I thought about when I saw you earlier too. Wow, we really think alike a lot, don't we?"

"I have no objections to it."

"Me neither! Now, let's stop talking and show me more how you feel about me!"

"Easily done," he uttered softly as he kissed her deeply.

…

The door to that room opened and six heads impossibly popped in. Then said six heads retreated and closed the door softly for fear of interrupting the two occupants.

JJ grinned, her hand firmly held in Dave's, began to sing, "Aaron and Emily, sitting on a tree…"

"K.I.S.S.I.N.G…" Garcia finished it, as she laughed.

Reid frowned, "Again, this song. I don't get it. But the last time, it was Garcia and Kevin. Now, you changed it to Hotch and Emily's names. How is that possible? I've never and I don't think Hotch would, sit on a tree. And isn't it an odd place to kiss Emily?"

The rest stared at him as if they were watching a horn growing out of him.

Finally, Ashley laughed, "Wow, you really are a deprived kid!"

Reid shook his head, "Aside from reading a lot, I don't think I'm deprived. In fact, my mom…"

"Reid!" Morgan called out, "Drop it. Monday, we're going to learn some nursery songs. Or…Ashley can teach you these songs over the weekend, won't you, Agent Seaver?"

Ashley laughed, "It's going to be a long weekend but I wasn't planning on playing kindergarten teacher." She blushed.

Everyone began teasing Reid at once as they walked away from the door.

…

"Getting kinda noisy out there, how about we get you home?" Hotch suggested.

"We've put in an appearance at the party, so I'd say we did our civic duty and yes, I'm ready to go home!"

He helped her down the table and spinning her around to face him, he grinned, "I love you, Emily Prentiss."

"And I, you."

Standing by the door, they stopped and began to kiss again…and again.

…The End…

.

Thank you! And if you have a chance, please leave a review! Would love to hear your take on this story!

Lizzie


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